It's gone from fall colors to very cool 35F, very quickly this year. Fast enough that I didn't take any fall foliage pictures this year or enjoy a warm but slightly brisk hike around one of the parks. The one day we did get out was over cast and threatening rain, but we hurried on and picked tons of berries for my invasive species jam. Promise I'll blog about that soon....

In any event this is a fun meal that we made a couple times during the summer. We're not huge beef eaters, not that we don't like it, its just well the industry, I'd prefer grass fed beef, but its hard to find. Anyway so we tend to splurge on steak rather than burgers. The big find for us is that one strip steak feeds the two of us just fine. Served with any types of sides, though go for easy and quick to make it a relaxing summery meal! This version has a Southwest feel to it with the addition of the lime and cilantro for a quick chimichurri sauce, and chili pepper to the salad dressing.Mmm this I think was the best picture and example of our steak for two meal.

Bring the marinated steak to room temperature, heat gril to medium/high heat. Takes about 10-15 minutes to grill a steak so plan the sides accordingly. Heres a good guide about how long to grill steak. Take the pesto base, about 1/2 cup and squeeze 1/2 lime into it and handful finely chopped cilantro season with salt pepper to taste. Set Aside. Make a quick vinaigrette with the other half of the lime juice and chili powder, really how ever you like it. Begin assembling the quesadillas, heat a pan with oil and gently fry and flip quesadillas until cheese is melted. Assemble plate with guacamole on top of the quesadillas or inside, and little diping bowls of the "chimichurri sauce" Cut steak in half for two portions and enjoy!

The key to strip steak is the marination, its a slightly cheaper cut so I like to start in around 11am. This is a how ever you like it type of marinade. Oil, salt/soy sauce, pepper, chili powder, and some salad dressing for vinegar or apple cider vinegar, even some honey is nice. The focus being flavor, and the acidic to tenderize the beef.

Side Variations: salads, sauted veggies, potatoes, or quesadillas with guac, quinoa, etc. another variation with potatoes salad and tomato salad, and of course a good malbec